Primary

Sanguine Theatre Company presents the winning entry of its 2016 Project Playwright Festival, in which a young girl must save her mother from the darkness of local politics. More…

In suburban Connecticut in 1999, nine-year-old Sophie is determined to fight the forces of evil. The allure of local politics has brainwashed her underpaid and overworked mother, Laura, into a misguided campaign for State Representative. During the course of a brutal primary election, Sophie must bring her mom back from the dark side with whatever it takes to restore Laura to her original self.

"Playwright Gracie Gardner effectively draws amusing parallels to our prevailing political climate...Alex Keegan’s direction is excellent, providing us with a charming glimpse of this family’s day-to-day life…Overall, 'Primary' is an entertaining and timely escape from our current political circus to laugh, or cringe, at a time when public service was no less controversial, but seemed somewhat simpler."
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"An amusing and bittersweet domestic comedy...Ms. Gardner has written a very enjoyable play with serious overtones...The dialogue is often highly comic with dramatic qualities that delineate and endow the characters with believability. The overall result is a pleasurably old-fashioned and well-made play. There are, however, two hyper fantasy sequences that don’t quite fit...It isn’t monumental, but it is the sort of smart and thoughtful entertainment that is welcome on the stage."
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"While the play had a cohesive and entertaining plot, some aspects of the play seemed a bit out of place and had me wondering of the playwright’s intent...The whole cast gave a pretty solid performance, but for me, Kevin Argus and Casey Nadzam steal the show...The best part about this play is that it is relatable. The setting, the family, the political happenings, all relevant...Due to all of this you feel connected to the play in more ways than one, making it a delightfully entertaining piece."
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"Gardner neatly sets up the pieces of her play but once the action sets off, questions arise, many of which are left unanswered, and her characters go on unnatural journeys simply for conflict...In a play where the action is slow, director Alex Keegan did all she could to liven it up and find glimmers of excitement. Unfortunately they were few and far between...With a very slow build up of action, 'Primary' lacks movement and strong characters...Gracie Gardner’s text didn’t seem ready."
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